It is that time of year! Some people send Christmas cards, I send this blog post :D.

In 2024, I wrapped up teaching in Taiwan, and said goodbye to all my friends there in May. Then, I went backpacking through Southeast Asia for about five months. Eventually, at the end of October I flew to California, stayed for a couple weeks in the Bay Area, and then onto my parents’ home in Florida where I’ve been for a couple months.

I have a newly designed website! Let me know if you have parts you like or suggestions for improvements.

Leaving Taiwan & Backpacking

Backpacking for five months was no joke. It was a good growth experience, and a good way of understanding myself – consider it a very active form of therapy.

Here are some posts about…

• Kindness on April 23rd, 2024. In my last couple weeks of teaching, I wrote in appreciation of all the kind people I have known in Taiwan. “Some downbeats last a lifetime.” – Ben Goldberg
• Joining a Rainbow Gathering in Taiwan with hippies in the woods.
• Visiting Hong Kong, Auroville (an intentional community in South India), traveling independently in India.
• Speaking to people in China. I stayed there for five weeks in total, traveling with various friends from California and also solo.
• I also traveled in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam with my good buddy Dean for about two months. Much of this time was focused on internal change and observation. Dean wrote a great reflection about what he learned.
• Lessons from Travel. A good post about all that I learned.

Moving Back

It was strange moving back… kind of like being an astronaut in outer space, and crash landing back on earth. When I first came back, it was jarring to see other human beings and feel the force of gravity. My body has slightly adjusted.

• A post about being fresh off the boat.
• Readjusting the way people talk in California.
• The morning after the 2024 presidential election.

Settling in

I’ve been in the US about two months since coming back. At some point I realized I ought to start looking for work. This task loomed over my head while traveling, but I honestly wasn’t in the head space to start networking or sending applications out while on overnight buses in Vietnam. Anyway, life is long, and I think it’s okay to take things slowly.

It’s a strange thing to think about work while the nature of work is changing so rapidly. I’ve been startled by generative AI, so I wrote a blog post consolidating my thoughts on how life will change in the next few years.

Job hunting for me has three major challenges:

• Discovering what I want to pursue. I’ve made progress on this (see Tangible and Intangible Progress).
• Pursuing it with maximum efficiency. I haven’t done this yet, but I read a good book about it (see Bible-pusher Rohan). The rate of change of the rate of change is positive.
• Keeping spirits up during the process. Sarasota, Florida has a fantastic ping pong club which I’ve been attending regularly (see Miro’s Ping Pong Advice). I also have been playing saxophone, designing this website, and hanging out with my dear parents.

That’s all for now! May you be well, joyful, and kind.

Rohan